Renzo Piano
Piano in 2007
Born	(1937-09-14) 14 September 1937 (age 74) Genoa, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Alma mater	Politecnico di Milano
Awards	Pritzker Architecture Prize AIA Gold Medal Sonning Prize Royal Gold Medal Kyoto Prize
Work
Practice	Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Buildings	Centre Georges Pompidou Parco della Musica Shard London Bridge

Nemo Science Centre in Amsterdam. The shape reflects the tunnel entrance it is built on

The Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences, a museum and research facility in San Francisco, California

Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan (1991–1994)

Central Saint Giles, London, England (2010)

Renzo Piano, Ufficiale OMRI (born 14 September 1937 in Genoa) is an Italian Pritzker Prize-winning architect. Architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff said of Piano's works that the "...serenity of his best buildings can almost make you believe that we live in a civilized world."^[1]

In 2006, Piano was selected by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.^[2] He was selected as the 10th most influential person in the "Arts and Entertainment" category of the 2006 Time 100.

Biography[link]

Piano was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1937 into a family of builders. He was educated and subsequently taught at the Politecnico di Milano. He graduated from the University in 1964 and began working with experimental lightweight structures and basic shelters.^[3] From 1965 to 1970 he worked with Louis Kahn and Z.S. Makowsky. He worked together with Richard Rogers from 1971 to 1977; their most famous joint project is the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1977). He also had a long collaboration with the engineer Peter Rice, with whom he shared a practice (L'Atelier Piano and Rice) between 1977 and 1981.

In 1981, Piano founded the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, which today employs 150 people and maintains offices in Paris, Genoa, and New York.^[4]

In 1999, Piano designed a watch entitled "Jelly Piano (GZ159)" for the Swatch Summer Collection. The watch design is clear and the exposed inner workings were influenced by his Centre Georges Pompidou design.^[5]

On 18 March 2008, he became an honorary citizen of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[6]

Piano's recent expansion of the Art Institute of Chicago includes a 264,000-square-foot (24,500 m²) wing with 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²) of gallery space^[7] called the Modern Wing, which opened on 16 May 2009.^[1][8] It includes a "flying carpet", a sunscreen that hovers above the roof and a 620-foot (190 m) steel bridge connecting Millennium Park to a sculpture terrace that leads into a restaurant on the wing’s third floor.^[9]

Select projects[link]

Current[link]

• ARS AEVI Museum of Contemporary Art^[10] in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999–)^[11]
• Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway (2002–)^[12]
• Centro de Arte Botín, Santander, Spain (2011–)
• City Gate, Royal Opera House, Parliament of Malta, and Freedom Square, Valletta, Malta (2009–)
• Columbia University Manhattanville Campus Master Plan and Jerome L. Greene Science Center, New York, New York (2004–)
• Harvard Art Museums expansion and renovation, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2009–)
• Kimbell Art Museum expansion, Fort Worth, Texas (2008–)
• KT Corporation headquarters, Seoul, South Korea (2011–)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (2003–)
• Pathé Foundation headquarters, Paris, France (2006–)
• Renzo Piano Tower I & II, San Francisco, California (2006–)
• Sesto San Giovanni masterplan, Milan, Italy (2004–)
• Shard London Bridge, London, England (2000–)^[13]
• Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Athens, Greece (2008–)
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York (2005–)

Completed[link]

• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum wing, Boston, Massachusetts (2005–2012)
• Central Saint Giles, London, England (2010)
• Modern Wing expansion of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (2009)
• Nichols Bridgeway, Chicago, Illinois (2009)
• California Academy of Sciences rebuilding, San Francisco, California (2008)
• Vulcano Buono, Nola, Italy (2007)
• The New York Times Building, New York, New York (2003–2007)
• Rocca di Frassinello Winery, Gavorrano, Italy (2002–2007)
• Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland (1999–2005)
• The Morgan Library & Museum expansion, New York, New York (2003–2006)
• Cité Internationale, Lyon, France (1995–2006)
• Weltstadthaus, Cologne, Germany (2005)
• High Museum of Art Expansion, Atlanta, Georgia (2005)
• Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy (2004)
• Il Sole 24 Ore headquarters, Milan, Italy (1998–2004)
• Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas (1999–2003)
• Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy (2002)
• Maison Hermès, Tokyo, Japan (2001)
• Auditorium Paganini, Parma, Italy (2001)
• Aurora Place, Sydney, Australia (1996–2000)
• Potsdamer Platz master plan, Berlin, Germany (1992–2000)
• Ferrari wind tunnel, Maranello, Italy (1996–1998)
• Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center, Nouméa, New Caledonia (1991–1998)
• Ushibuka Haiya Bridge, Amakusa, Japan (1991–1997)
• Beyeler Foundation Museum, Basel, Switzerland (1991–1997)
• NEMO science museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (1997)
• Cy Twombly Gallery, Houston, Texas (1995)
• International Terminal, Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan (1991–1994)
• Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy (1988–1989)
• Menil Collection, Houston, Texas (1982–1987)
• Banca CIS building, Cagliari, Sardinia (1985)
• IBM Travelling Pavilion, (1982–1984)
• IRCAM & the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (1971–1977)

Cancelled[link]

• City Tech Tower, New York, New York
• Trans National Place, Boston, Massachusetts

Awards[link]

Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, 24 March 1990^[14]
Italian Order of Merit for Culture and Art, 28 March 1994^[14]

• In 1989, Piano was the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal.
• In 1990, Piano was the recipient of the Kyoto Prize.
• In 1998, Piano was the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
• In 2008, Piano was the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.
• In 2008, Piano was the recipient of the Sonning Prize.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Renzo Piano

• Official website
• Pritzker Architecture Prize biography
• Profile at GreatBuildings.com